# Passive humidifier recommendations?



## Sun Grown Pilon (Sep 29, 2020)

I scored this Stewart-Beckwith humidor, 2.44 cubic feet, and need to season it as well as keep the humidity maintained to 68%-70%. I've looked at electronic systems but reviews are all over the board, particularly regarding accuracy and reliability, at least in the Amazon space.  Commercial units are too spendy for a hobbyist and it's not easy finding honest reviews from a wide audience. There's also no obvious cable port and I'm not keen on drilling holes (and then sealing them, of course). Thus my option for more reliable physics of using beads, sponge, etc.


My current 50 count humidor I've had for the last few years uses a pair of sponges in the lid and works pretty well. I use distilled water and have calibrated the hydrometer in it several times as well. I'm thinking about something like a Boveda-type system, using synthetic beads or cat litter (okay, never heard of that :vs_laugh: but have it for our indoor cat). I've heard of some other products in this category so any recommendations from those who've used them or other passive/non-electric system as the main source of humidification?


(This is my first cigar forum -- but not my first time in a forum (I used to own & admin one on my server) -- so please go easy on the abbreviations)


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## zcziggy (Apr 11, 2019)

i would go with the 65% boveda packs


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## s1n3 n0m1n3 (Jun 20, 2019)

Ziggy nailed it. 84% Boveda’s for the seasoning and 65% for everyday.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

s1n3 n0m1n3 said:


> Ziggy nailed it. 84% Boveda's for the seasoning and 65% for everyday.


That's how you drop the mic in one sentence.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

zcziggy said:


> i would go with the 65% boveda packs





s1n3 n0m1n3 said:


> Ziggy nailed it. 84% Boveda's for the seasoning and 65% for everyday.





Cigary said:


> That's how you drop the mic in one sentence.


IDK, that thing looks like it's gonna' leak like a sieve. He may need 69% Bovedas just to keep it in the low to mid 60's.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

zcziggy said:


> i would go with the 65% boveda packs


_DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_


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## Sun Grown Pilon (Sep 29, 2020)

curmudgeonista said:


> IDK, that thing looks like it's gonna' leak like a sieve. He may need 69% Bovedas just to keep it in the low to mid 60's.


 Correct in that it is not 100% tight. However, it's a very well-made unit and the sliding door frames are "sealed", if you will, with felt channels. There's also a lip on the top slider at the end opposite the handle that covers the gap between the two doors, further helping to reduce leakage. Is it as tight as my traditional desktop unit? Nope. But it is far better than a vegetable colander :vs_smirk: Yes, it probably will require more futzing with than normal due to the total lack of tightness but if it becomes too much I can always use modern synthetic seals around the perimeter of the two storage boxes.

Stewart-Beckwith site: http : // stewart-beckwith . com

Thanks y'all for the input. I'll see what Boveda can do for me. In the meantime I have an open container of water in it so it's not completely dry.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

Sun Grown Pilon said:


> Correct in that it is not 100% tight. However, it's a very well-made unit...


Not denigrating the humidor. It is what it is. Just trying to steer you in the right direction, and remind our other members not to take Bovedas at face value unless it's in an airtight tupper or such.

Their own website acknowledges that Bovedas in wooden humidors tend to see a 2%-5% drop from the packet's stated RH, and I suspect a display humidor with sliding doors could possibly drop it even more. Hence my assertion that you'd need a 69% Boveda to be able to maintain anything close to the 65% RH that the majority of our members recommended.


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## Sun Grown Pilon (Sep 29, 2020)

curmudgeonista said:


> Not denigrating the humidor. It is what it is. Just trying to steer you in the right direction, and remind our other members not to take Bovedas at face value unless it's in an airtight tupper or such.
> 
> Their own website acknowledges that Bovedas in wooden humidors tend to see a 2%-5% drop from the packet's stated RH, and I suspect a display humidor with sliding doors could possibly drop it even more. Hence my assertion that you'd need a 69% Boveda to be able to maintain anything close to the 65% RH that the majority of our members recommended.


 Cool and I definitely agree with you.

Next up, an adjustable hydrometer. This is where I'm willing to spend a little more money but that's the topic for another thread.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

Sun Grown Pilon said:


> Cool and I definitely agree with you.
> 
> Next up, an adjustable hydrometer. This is where I'm willing to spend a little more money but that's the topic for another thread.


No need for another thread. You can buy cheaper hygrometers, and you can buy fancier ones, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a more accurate hygro for humidors than the Caliber IV (about $25).


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## Nicoli (Jul 28, 2015)

s1n3 n0m1n3 said:


> Ziggy nailed it. 84% Boveda's for the seasoning and 65% for everyday.


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## Sun Grown Pilon (Sep 29, 2020)

curmudgeonista said:


> ...you'd be hard-pressed to find a more accurate hygro for humidors than the Caliber IV (about $25).


* Thanks for the recommendation.* This definitely has the best accuracy for hobbyist use. Some of the other hygos were +/-5% for RH: That's +/-3.5%RH @ 70-F which is too large of a range for error :surprise:

I couldn't find accuracy figures for the electronic Cigar Oasis humidifier units:frown2: That's a bit odd in my opinion.


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## Wheels Up (Jun 13, 2019)

Sun Grown Pilon said:


> I couldn't find accuracy figures for the electronic Cigar Oasis humidifier units:frown2: That's a bit odd in my opinion.


 @UBC03 has some experience with electronic humidifiers. I have a large cabinet humidor and decided to use Bovedas instead of an electronic means thanks to his story.

I will echo what was mentioned above. I like to store in the 65% range, but I use a lot of 69% Bovedas because my humidor is not as air-tight as a tupper.

BTW, welcome to the forums!


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## Sun Grown Pilon (Sep 29, 2020)

Where do y'all normally purchase your Bovedas from (can I ask that?)?


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## Wheels Up (Jun 13, 2019)

I buy them anywhere I find them for a good price when I need more. I have bought them from Amazon, Thompson Cigars, and a few of them at my local Brick & Mortar cigar shop.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

curmudgeonista said:


> IDK, that thing looks like it's gonna' leak like a sieve. He may need 69% Bovedas just to keep it in the low to mid 60's.


One uses the boveda of choice based on what they're comfortable with....65% works for me because it works the spread....69% can be risky and if the humidor is leeching then you're fighting humidity on 2 fronts....use good sense and get quality humidors and use a common sense approach as to a stable environment.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

Sun Grown Pilon said:


> Where do y'all normally purchase your Bovedas from (can I ask that?)?





Wheels Up said:


> I buy them anywhere I find them for a good price when I need more. I have bought them from Amazon, Thompson Cigars, and a few of them at my local Brick & Mortar cigar shop.


+1... Except never Thompson. I haven't bought anything from them them since 1992 (yet I still get their catalogs in the mail trying to sell me Avocado cigars or some other such abomination).

But, I've gotten them from several other online cigar vendors. Also bought Bovedas directly from their own website when they had 'em on sale.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Cigary said:


> One uses the boveda of choice based on what they're comfortable with....65% works for me because it works the spread....69% can be risky and if the humidor is leeching then you're fighting humidity on 2 fronts....use good sense and get quality humidors and use a common sense approach as to a stable environment.


Yes i agree 95% of the battle is buying a quality box.
If one wants to save money use tupperware.
Save up for a decent unit.
Trying to compensate for a leaky box.
Is like putting one's finger in the **** attempting to stop a leak.


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## Arry75 (Aug 3, 2020)

The Cigar Oasis units can be adjusted +/- 9 points. I have used them for over a decade and in humidor like that it might be a better fit than Boveda. I upgraded my CO plus to the latest .3 version and the first unit was off by 15%! This drove me nuts and I tried the Boveda route for a few weeks. I had to use 4 of the larger 320 gram packs in my humidor and I didn’t like how much real estate that took up. I went back to using the Cigar Oasis plus .3 and the company replaced the aforementioned unit under warranty. The new unit was off by 6 and I was able to calibrate it. To calibrate it I placed just the top fan section in a Gallon ziplock bag with a 75% Boveda pack along with my Caliber 4 hygrometer. I let it sit a day and made the adjustments.


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

Wheels Up said:


> @UBC03 has some experience with electronic humidifiers. I have a large cabinet humidor and decided to use Bovedas instead of an electronic means thanks to his story.
> 
> I will echo what was mentioned above. I like to store in the 65% range, but I use a lot of 69% Bovedas because my humidor is not as air-tight as a tupper.
> 
> BTW, welcome to the forums!


Mine's filled with KL since it turned my cabinet into a rainforest exhibit. Including water doing down the glass. It got stuck on and continued to to run. Luckily I was home or I woulda came home to tobacco soup.

I don't trust em.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## Sun Grown Pilon (Sep 29, 2020)

UBC03 said:


> Mine's filled with KL since it turned my cabinet into a rainforest exhibit...


What is "KL"?


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## Mbaldwin944 (Jan 17, 2019)

Sun Grown Pilon said:


> UBC03 said:
> 
> 
> > Mine's filled with KL since it turned my cabinet into a rainforest exhibit...
> ...


Kitty litter. Use unscented


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

Sun Grown Pilon said:


> What is "KL"?





Mbaldwin944 said:


> Kitty litter. Use unscented


Unscented *SILICA* KL, not clay.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> Yes i agree 95% of the battle is buying a quality box.
> If one wants to save money use tupperware.
> Save up for a decent unit.
> Trying to compensate for a leaky box.
> Is like putting one's finger in the **** attempting to stop a leak.


So many jokes ran through my mind....


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## zcziggy (Apr 11, 2019)

Cigary said:


> So many jokes ran through my mind....


****, box and finger got you too eh? :vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


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## DanWil84 (May 1, 2020)

I could be that Dutch guy who sticks the finger in the uhhhh nevermind. Although we're quite liberal on that subject 

Verstuurd vanaf mijn VOG-L29 met Tapatalk


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

zcziggy said:


> ****, box and finger got you too eh? :vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


My mind is uncontrollable >


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## Sun Grown Pilon (Sep 29, 2020)

*Well now, that's an eye opener!*

I calculated the entire volume of the humidor and it's 4224 cubic inches (or 2.44-ft^3 or 69,219-cm^3 or 18.3 gallons or 69 liters) or about 600 cigars if using the rule of 100 cigars per 700-in^3. That means 6 x 320g Boveda packs @ $18 each = $108! :vs_whistle: Electronic humidity control is looking fiscally superior at this point :serious:

However, a good portion of the humidor is empty as you can see. Question is, do I humidify for the humidor volume or do I humidify for the actual cigar capacity of the display cases (which would be significantly less than 600)(and, no, I haven't measured their volume separate of the entire case)? If the latter then, naturally, if I added cigars in the empty space behind the display cases I would take their count into account.


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## Wheels Up (Jun 13, 2019)

Sun Grown Pilon said:


> I calculated the entire volume of the humidor and it's 4224 cubic inches (or 2.44-ft^3 or 69,219-cm^3 or 18.3 gallons or 69 liters) or about 600 cigars if using the rule of 100 cigars per 700-in^3. That means 6 x 320g Boveda packs @ $18 each = $108! :vs_whistle: Electronic humidity control is looking fiscally superior at this point :serious:
> 
> However, a good portion of the humidor is empty as you can see. Question is, do I humidify for the humidor volume or do I humidify for the actual cigar capacity of the display cases (which would be significantly less than 600)(and, no, I haven't measured their volume separate of the entire case)? If the latter then, naturally, if I added cigars in the empty space behind the display cases I would take their count into account.


I can't tell you if it's the "right" way to do it or not, but I calculated for volume, not the number of cigars I have. I have quite a bit more room than I have cigars, so I use empty cigar boxes to take up unused space. I figure the wood in the boxes can help with RH stability too.


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## Sun Grown Pilon (Sep 29, 2020)

Wheels Up said:


> ...I use empty cigar boxes to take up unused space. I figure the wood in the boxes can help with RH stability too.


Great suggestion! I can easily get wooden boxes, too. Thank you :vs_cool:


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## rjsully80 (Oct 9, 2020)

*Where to buy Boveda packs*

I go to Boveda.com. If you're buying a quantity, they are cheaper than Amazon


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## OneStrangeOne (Sep 10, 2016)

Sun Grown Pilon said:


> Great suggestion! I can easily get wooden boxes, too. Thank you :vs_cool:


You can also use the air pillows from shipping or simply blow up a zip lock bag to. I'm not sold on using boxes because yoU still have to humidify the air in the box, the pillows will decrease the volume of air. 
I do use electronic humidifier's in my 600 count boxes (Devilbliss) they've been running for about 8 years now with no problems from either one. They use a flat ribbon cord so there's no need to drill any holes.
It seems to me that you could use that space behind the trays for storage as well? 
Also with electronic you don't have to worry about the dead space.


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